


The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

by LaceKyoko1138



Series: Fictober 2020 but make it Sylvianne [7]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fictober 2020, Frozen AU, Rumors, Snow and Ice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27115480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaceKyoko1138/pseuds/LaceKyoko1138
Summary: Sylvain, traveling across Faerghus, hears rumors about a woman with a heart of ice, a queen of cold whose only desire is to blanket the kingdom of Fhirdiad in snow. Sylvain thinks of this as his greatest challenge yet. If he can't warm the queen's heart, then who can?Fictober Day 7: Frozen AU
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund & Sylvain Jose Gautier
Series: Fictober 2020 but make it Sylvianne [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946101
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

**Author's Note:**

> I had to go over my prompts and realized some were a little too extensive for me to write on short notice. I'm already behind as it is. I'm going to try and keep these brief from now on, but I do tend to be a bit long-winded so...
> 
> I may have been watching Frozen with my friend minispice and decided I'd change one of my prompts to this AU instead. Hope you enjoy!

Sylvain came from a small town in the eastern part of Faerghus, and his only wish was to leave, to adventure through the land and discover a world he couldn't imagine. When he was of age, he packed a satchel of a change of clothes and other necessary items and bid his parents farewell. They were worried but were happy to see their son become the man he was always meant to be.

Sylvain mounted his horse and set out on his adventure. He met many people along the way, from minstrels traveling in a caravan, hoping to make coin, to royals who were entirely too self-important. It was refreshing to say the least.

Sylvain had traveled very far and found himself in a city called Fhirdiad. It was the kingdom that ruled their country, but Sylvain had never visited.

Fhirdiad was enormous and beautiful, white cobblestones covering the streets and wooden houses offset with stone to insulate heat and keep a strong foundation. The castle itself was gorgeous, tall, with numerous towers, flags on the peaks, with an open gate to welcome many. It all seemed like this city was strong in its community. People were friendly, perhaps a little stuffy at times, but overall welcoming of a traveler such as he.

It was, however, covered in deep snow. But it was Garland Moon, and snow at this time of year was quite improbable.

Sylvain stopped by a tavern where he rented a room for the evening, joining the locals in food and drink. It was lively, music loud, people laughing, and Sylvain found he hadn't been so happy in his life.

All changed when a patron of the tavern, a curvy woman with long fluffy blonde hair, began some tale with a sinister-sounding voice, imparting wickedness to dramatize her tale.

“...the evil snow queen then froze the hearts of every man in the city, snapping her fingers so they'd shatter in a million frozen fractals. Dead, the evil snow queen laughed, taking in the misery of every wife and child. She then cast a spell, blanketing the city in snow and ruled with her abominable snow men, imprisoning the citizens. The people would only find freedom if the fiery heart of a brave soul melted her...”

The woman continued her tale, and everyone laughed, oohing and ahhing at the right parts. Apparently this woman was the reason for what is known as the eternal winter in Fhirdiad. Sylvain had heard of this years ago, but he always thought it was some way to lure in travelers, or keep them at bay. It was hard to tell sometimes with big cities. Something about this felt very off.

He turned to the young man beside him, a man who introduced himself as Ashe, and asked him about the story the woman had told.

“Oh, it's a true story! Years ago there was an incredibly destructive snow storm that destroyed so many buildings and took so many lives. It was discovered there was a young woman with ice powers frantically running from the kingdom. She was chased into the woods and a lot of the knights were sent after her, but none were able to find her. Some even died, found frozen in the snow. It's pretty obvious she killed them as they pursued her.” Ashe shrugged, drinking more of his ale. “It's pretty gruesome, but it's true.”

Sylvain grimaced. “I highly doubt a single woman took out that many knights.”

“If you say so. But her powers were said to be incredibly strong. Magic isn't unheard of around here, but only a powerful magic could have caused that storm.”

The woman telling the story overheard their conversation. “Oh, so you've never heard this legend before?”

Sylvain turned to her, putting on the charm. “Oh, my lady, it was beyond fantastic to hear, but could a single woman really cause such a ruckus?”

The woman nodded very seriously. “You were not there. It wasn't that long ago. Some of us were quite young, even losing parents to her.”

Sylvain scoffed. “If it wasn't so long ago, what did she even look like?”

Everyone was quiet a moment, listening in on this conversation. This stranger did not know of their plight so many years ago.

“She was said to be tall and imposing, incredibly beautiful, but wrathful. Her skin was a deep blue with icy hair, and she cast her spells carelessly.”

Another girl with ginger who had accompanied the blonde piped up. “It's said the only way to stop her is if someone melts her cold heart. As in, make her fall in love with them. A lot of men have tried to do that, and those that say they've found her were chased away by her snow men.”

Sylvain laughed, really laughed, heartily. “You cannot be serious.”

“We are,” the ginger said.

“Alright. Challenge accepted.” Sylvain finished off the rest of his ale.

The ginger and blonde looked at him confused. “What?” they said in unison.

“If seducing her is what it takes to stop this winter, then I'm your man! No lady can refuse my charm!”

The two women looked at him dubiously, but he seemed determined.

“Well, if you think so,” the blonde said.

“I know so.” Sylvain grabbed his satchel. “What direction can I find her?”

“She lives in the northern part of Faerghus, on the outskirts of Fhirdiad. It's thick with trees. You can't miss her castle if you wander deep enough,” said Ashe.

“Alright. Then I'm off! You'll never have an eternal winter again.” Sylvain shrugged on his satchel and left the tavern, leaving a nice amount of gold on the counter. The barkeep took it happily, chuckling to herself. What an arrogant man. He'd end up dead or hurt like the rest of them.

*#*

Sylvain and his horse trotted through the forest. It only got thicker as he traversed, and it seemed the snow was only denser, brisk winds stinging his cheeks as he wrapped his scarf more tightly around him. His breath came out in little puffs and it was difficult to see, with the snowflakes blinding his vision.

But then there was a clearing, and Sylvain found the most beautiful castle he had ever seen.

It was crystalline and glimmering. It shimmered with hues of blue, green, and purple and its peaks seemed to touch the sky itself. Here, it was like being in the eye of the storm. The stars lit up the sky and Sylvain found himself transfixed.

But snow men? He saw nothing of that sort. Either they were off duty, or those men that claimed to find her were lying, and he was willing to bet the latter.

Sylvain continued along, approaching the gates. He looked up, feeling very small.

A lone woman lived in such a giant castle? It was unbelievable.

Sylvain knew no time like the present, dismounted, and knocked on the door loudly. It echoed and it felt so disconcerting.

Sylvain continued looking at the walls, noting the windows with carefully crafted latticed windows, all made of ice. Everything was so cold to the touch. Maybe there was some truth to the ice powers thing, but he didn't get a real sense of foreboding. All he felt was loneliness.

He saw a shadow ghost across one of the windows, as if someone was watching him. Maybe if he just pushed the gate...

It opened easily. Now Sylvain felt trepidation. This seemed almost too easy.

But he led his horse along and went through a snowy courtyard. Upon approaching the castle doors, he left his horse, tying it to a pillar, and knocked again. He waited a moment, knocked again, but still nothing. He tried the door and again it opened easily.

_This is very strange..._ Sylvain thought to himself. But he continued on, curiosity beyond piqued.

The room he entered was enormous with sweeping staircases leading to the next level. Artfully crafted pillars held the building together. The floor was ice and Sylvain had to keep his balance. He had ice skated ever since he was a kid, so it wasn't difficult, but he still took careful steps.

He heard footsteps, quick and light, but footsteps nonetheless. It sounded like they were running away from him.

Sylvain was not deterred. He kept a knife on his person so if he had to fight, he could, but he didn't want to let it get that far. So he ascended the steps, wanting to meet the mystery inhabitant of the castle.

He went in the direction of the steps, jogging, listening past his own footsteps. He felt he was getting closer as he heard gasping as if the person he was chasing was tiring.

He must have caught up to her, because he saw an imposing door left ajar and he pushed himself through, swiveling his head around to find his quarry.

And there, standing upon the sill of a giant window, was a young woman. She had to be close in age to him and she looked terribly frightened.

“Uh, hi,” Sylvain said smoothly, suddenly unsure. He expected some sort of enchantress, but this was simply a scared woman looking to flee.

She said nothing, but he could practically hear and feel her rapid heartbeat like a tiny mouse. In this scenario, he did not want to be the cat.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you,” he said carefully.

“You don't need to be here,” she said quietly. Her voice was so sweet and breathy, gentle. “You should leave.”

“No, I... I wanted to meet you. I don't believe the rumors.”

She paused, his words running through her mind. “You're not from Fhirdiad, are you?”

“Nope! Proudly from Gautier. My name's Sylvain. Yours?” He cautiously took a step forward and he saw her draw back a bit.

Her hand was on the glass, as if ready to push it, but she was clearly hesitating. “I'm... Marianne.”

Good. She was eased enough to introduce herself. That wasn't a bad thing.

“A pleasure, Marianne.” He took another step.

She was quivering and he hated that. He didn't like to scare girls. In fact, he usually didn't. This was new territory.

“Please don't be scared,” he said in as gentle of a voice he could muster.

“Why are you here? Are you...wanting to...seduce me?”

Sylvain grimaced, embarrassed she thought that already. “Let's just say I was curious.”

“Oh no, you really are here to seduce me.” She crept closer to the window.

Sylvain feared the worst. “Please don't-”

But she must have lost her footing because the glass seemed to shatter under her touch and then she was free falling.

Sylvain had never moved so fast in his life. He was there, at the edge, grabbing her hand. She was cold and his palms were sweaty, but with great effort he pulled her up, trying to wipe the glass away. But it was shards of ice and it melted under the touch of his warm gloves.

Marianne sat on the edge, stiff as a board. Her heart was rapidly beating in her chest and she wanted nothing more than to fly away.

“Hey, it's okay,” Sylvain said in an attempt to comfort her. He grasped her hand. “Are you alone in this castle?”

She nodded, at a loss for words. A man...was in her castle... Unprecedented.

“How long have you been alone?”

She took in a shuddering breath. “Nearly my entire life,” she admitted. “I lost my parents years ago in that storm...”

There was no way she had done the storm then. If she had lost her own parents because of it, then why blame her?

“Do you know what caused that blizzard then?”

“It...was me.”

Sylvain was incredibly confused but Marianne then went on to explain her powers were unheard of in her homeland, probably some curse from the goddess, so her parents had traveled to Fhirdiad to find a mage who could help Marianne.

But the anxiety of leaving, of knowing she was causing all this trouble threw Marianne into a panic and her powers blew out of control, causing the worst blizzard in history. The one that had taken so many lives and had cursed this city to an endless winter.

She had never felt safe since, and the snow fell on.

“It's not you fault. You were just scared...” Sylvain said in an attempt to assuage her fears.

“If I hadn't been born, none of this would have happened...” Marianne insisted.

“If you'd never been born, I would have never met you,” Sylvain countered.

What an odd thing to say, in Marianne's opinion, but it was flattering. Strange though, because what did she give to this stranger to make him like her so much?

As if reading her mind, Sylvain went on to say, “I think you are someone that underestimates herself and simply needs someone to be there for you. Your power is not a curse. It's incredible, and you just need to control it.”

“But I can't!” Marianne yelled, and the room seemed to grow colder. Flurries of snow wrapped around her as she started to cry. “I... I've tried, but I... I...”

He saw her panicking, but grasped her hands anyway. Not enough to entrap her, but enough to tell her she wasn't alone. “I don't know much about magic, but I'm a good friend. I think you just need confidence and practice, and I will happily cheer you on.”

Marianne seemed to have froze in his grasp, but she nodded all the same. “You will?”

“Of course.”

An unlikely, fast-made friendship, but for the seasons to come, Sylvain and Marianne never parted, and over time, the winter that held Fhirdiad so tightly began to slowly melt, as did Marianne's heart.


End file.
